Dryer door and filter assembly



C. F. CZECH DRYER DOOR AND FILTER ASSEMBLY Feb. 21, 1967 3 Sheets$heet 1 Filed July 6, 1964 INVE [[Zza (d 64,, f/xtfom Feb. 21, 1967 c. F. CZECH DRYER DOOR AND FILTER ASSEMBLY 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 6, 1964 INVENTOR. [6 x41 Feb. 21, 1967 c. F. CZECH DRYER DOOR AND FILTER ASSEMBLY 3 heets-Sheet 5 Filed July 6, 1964 E Z J- 5 INVENTOR- 5 //1 /W/ 6 2M, 6Jo%) & 0W

United States Patent Gfifice 33%,624 Patented Feb. 21, 1967 3,304,624 DRYER DOOR AND FILTER ASSEMBLY Clifford F. Czech, Ripon, Wis., assignor to McGraw- Edison Company, Ripon, Wis., a corporation of Delaware Fiied July 6, 1964, er. No. 380,704 8 Claims. or. 34--82) The present invention relates to a lint filter assembly for laundry dryers.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a lint filter for a laundry dryer which has a large filtering area and which is readily accessible for cleaning.

A further object is the provision of a lint filter and support in the loading opening of a laundry dryer in which the filter screen is positively positioned and held in sealed engagement for the efiicient flow of drying air through the filter screen.

A more detailed object of the present invention is the provision of a lint filter in the loading opening of a laundry dryer in which all parts of the filter and its supporting and mounting structure are quickly and easily removed for removing accumulated lint.

A related object of the invention is to provide a door mounted lint filter assembly which permits removal of the filter screen either alone or together with its supporting structure without tools and with a minimum of inconvenience.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a laundry dryer for use in connection with the present invention, the door of the dryer being removed;

FIG. 2 is a partial vertical section of the front portion of the dryer taken along the line 22 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a rear elevation of a door for the dryer;

FIG. 4 is a vertical section of the dryer door with a lint filter assembly attached;

FIG. 5 is a front elevation of a shield panel and support for the filter assembly;

FIG. 6 is a vertical section of the shield panel and support taken along the line 66 of FIG. 6;

FIG. 7 is a front elevation of a filter screen assembly; and

FIG. 8 is a vertical section of the filter screen assembly of FIG. 7.

Referring to the drawings in more detail, a laundry dryer enclosed in a generally rectangular cabinet 11 and embodying the present invention is shown in FIG. 1. Clothes to be dried are contained in a horizontal drum 12 which is rotatable by a suitable power source (not shown) about its longitudinal axis. During the drying process the drum 12 is rotated to tumble the clothes while heated air is circulated through the drum and the clothes therein. Access to the drum for loading and unloading clothes is provided by a circular opening 14 formed in the front end wall 15 of the drum which is alined with a corresponding circular opening 16 in a front wall panel 18 of the dryer cabinet. A door hinged at one edge to the front panel of the cabinet is provided over the loading opening and is mounted to swing forwardly away from the cabinet to open position and rearwardly into closed position in engagement With the marginal edge portion surrounding the loading opening.

To prevent clothes from falling between the drum and the front panel, a cylindrical collar or flange 19 alined with the loading openings 14, 16 extends inwardly from the front panel toward the front wall of the drum.

The present invention is intended for use with a dryer in which drying air is supplied to the clothes drum 12 through openings in the rear or side of the drum and is exhausted through the loading opening. Means for circulating drying air in this manner are well known and need not be described in detail. For present purposes it is sufficient to note that a customary form of air supply includes a heater box (not shown) one end of which is open to the atmosphere for receiving air and the other end open to a perforated wall of the clothes drum. Electrical or gas heating elements within the heater box warm the air passing therethrough.

For exhausting air from the clothes drum, the collar or flange 19 intermediate the loading openings in the front wall and the drum is perforated for the passage of air. The perforations may be placed around the entire collar or only a portion of it. Surrounding the collar, or the perforated portion of it, is a collecting chamber 26 to direct the exhaust air across the front face of the drum and thence rearwardly through an exhaust duct 21. In the illustrative embodiment of the drawings, the guard collar 19 is perforated about its entire circumference and is surrounded by an annular collector 20 having a cylindrical outer wall 22 spaced from the guard collar and inwardly extending flanges 23, 2 adjacent the front and rear ends of the collar. The lower left portion of the collector has an edgewise extension 25 between the front panel 18 and the front wall 15 of the drum for connection with the exhaust duct 21 positioned in the lower left corner of the cabinet. The duct 21 extends along the side of the drum to the intake of an exhaust fan or blower 26 at the rear of the cabinet. The outlet 28 of the exhaust fan leads through the back panel of the cabinet.

The drying air not only takes up moisture from the clothes, but also picks up and carries particles of lint from the clothes. In order to reduce the amount of lint in the air exhausted from the dryer, the present invention contemplates a filter means for trapping lint which is quickly and easily cleaned. For this purpose means in the form of a fine mesh screen 29 is provided in the path of the exhaust air to remove the major portion of the lint from the air. In the llustrated dryer the lint screen 29 is placed across the loading opening of the clothes drum 14 such that the exhaust air must pass through the screen 29 before entering the exhaust perforations or apertures in the guard collar 19. By so positioning the lint screen, a large filtering area is provided in a compact and easily fabricated lint trap or filter.

Means are provided for supporting the lint trap screen to move it out of the way for loading and unloading the clothes drum and also to protect it from damage. For this purpose, the lint screen is mounted on the rear of a loading door 31 to swing it into filtering position when the door is closed and outwardly around the door hinges 32 to permit access to the loading opening. Protection for the screen element is given by a dished sheet metal panel 34- attached to the door 31 in rearwardly spaced relation to permit the screen 29 to be placed between the shield panel and the rear of the door. In more detail, the screen filter is of circular outline having a rearwardly and outwardly sloping peripheral flange 35. Around the rear edge of the flange is a circular frame 36 to which is riveted or otherwise fastened the edge of the screen flange 35. Also fastened to the flange are the ends of a pair of cross braces 38, 39 positioned approximately at right angles to each other. The cross braces 38, 39 are positioned on the front or convex side of the screen and have their end portions bent rearwardly to conform to the outside configuration of the screen. The cross braces are fastened together at their intersection at the center of the screen and have a small domeshaped protuberance 41 at the center of the intersection for purposes to be explained hereinafter.

The shield panel 34 like the filter screen 29 is circular in outline and is of substantially the same diameter. A forwardly and outwardly sloping peripheral flange 42 on the shield panel has an outwardly extending annular rim 43 which abuts the frame 36 of the screen assembly. A plurality of perforations or holes 44 over a major portion of the shield 34 permit the flow of exhaust air from the drum opening 14 through the shield to the filter screen 29. For channeling a flow of exhaust drying air from the loading opening of the clothes drum through the shield panel and into the exhaust collar, sealing means are provided. This means is a circular sealing member or gasket 45 fixed to the rear edge of the guard collar 19 and projecting radially inwardly therefrom. The guard seal has a diameter slightly less than the outer diameter of the annular rim 43 of the shield panel 34 such that when the latter is moved to closed position the rim engages the seal. This blocks the passage of air from the drum directly to the collecting chamber causing the air to move through the shield and filter. A similar circular seal 46 is mounted on the front wall 15 of the clothes drum and engages the rear flange 24 of the collector 20.

To position the screen 29 centrally with respect to the shield panel 34, a releasable positioning means is provided. In the illustrated embodiment of the invention this means includes the dome-shaped protuberance 41 on the cross braces 38, 39 of the screen assembly and a mating convex depression 48 on the rear of the door 31. The dryer door has a spaced, double wall construction, the front wall 49 being substantially planar and the rear wall 50 having strengthening ridges 51. The rear wall of the door when in closed position engages a circular sealing member 52 fixed to the dryer cabinet around the loading opening therein to prevent the exhaust system from drawing air from the room rather than through the clothes drum. Fixed to the center of the rear wall is a rearwardly projecting spacer and positioning element 54. As shown in the drawings this element is of a relatively low or shallow conical configuration, and at its apex has an inverted portion forming the rearwardly opening depression 48 of generally spherical shape. The surface of the depression 48 coacts with the protuberance 41 on the screen cross braces to locate the screen assembly 29 centrally of the shield panel 34 and the loading openings.

To allow the screen filter assembly to be removed for cleaning lint therefrom, the protuberance 41 on the cross braces is releasably retained in the positioning depression by the resilience of the cross braces 38, 39. A circular seal member 55 fixed to the screen frame 36 and engaging the shield 34 also provides a resilient force tending to hold the latching protuberance 41 in the depression 48. When inserting the screen assembly in position the assembly is slipped sidewise between the door wall 50 and the shield panel 34. As the assembly approaches the central position the latching protuberance 41 engages the rearwardly sloping conical surface of positioning element 54. Further movement toward the center forces the screen frame and seal 55 against the shield panel 34 and flexes the seal 55 and cross braces 38, 39 until the positioning depression is reached. The resilience of the seal and cross braces then pushes the latching protuberance 41 into the depression 48. The internal sloping surface of the depression 48 permits the screen assembly 29 to be removed manually by pulling sidewise to cam the latching protuberance 41 rearwardly over the edge of the depression 48. To facilitate manipulation of the screen assembly a handle 56 formed of a strip of metal bent into a loop is attached to one of the cross braces 38.

Although the major portion of the lint is deposited and retained on the filter screen 29, it has been found that lint and other particles are also deposited and cling to the inside of the shield panel 34 and its support. For removing such lint and particles, means are provided for detachably mounting the shield and screen support to the dryer door. The mounting means also serves to space the shield panel from the rear of the door a distance suflicient to permit insertion of the filter screen and to hold it in position as previously described.

In the preferred embodiment the shield supporting means comprises a semicylindrical frame 58 around the sides and bottom of the forward edge of the shield panel 34. With reference to the drawing, the frame is formed by a relatively stiff wire bent into a zig-zag or serpentine pattern. The alternately opposed outer edges 59, 60 of the frame wire respectively fit into an annular groove 61 around the rim 43 of the shield panel 34 and abut against the rear wall 50 of the door. The rear edge 60 of the wire frame fits into the groove 61 on the shield panel and is welded or otherwise attached to the panel. In the illustrative embodiment of the drawing the opposed edges of the Wire framework are flattened to provide straight parallel sections 59, 60 and the interconnecting wire portions 62 are generally perpendicular thereto.

For removably supporting the wire frame and the attached shield panel to the door, a pair of sliding or slip connections are provided together With a friction or locking connection. The sliding connectlons are formed on the upper, opposed ends of the support frame by a pair of downwardly directed hooks 64 which are slidingly received in apertures 65 formed in two rearwardly projecting lugs 66 on the rear walls of the door. The hooks 64 are, together with the associated lugs 65, located with respect to the filter screen 29 such that the screen may be removed from the supporting structure Without interference. For this purpose the hooks 64 are located in generally diametrically opposed relation to each other at opposite sides of the shield panel 34. The upper portion of the supporting frame is thus left open to permit the screen 29 to be slipped edgewise between the hooks until it is properly seated in substantially concentric alinement with the shield panel 34 and access opening 16 in the cabinet.

Cooperating with the sliding hook connections is a means for locking the shield panel 34 and frame 58 from swinging on the hooks 64 and from inadvertently slipping out of the hook connections. A manually releasable connection is provided for so locking the frame to the rear wall 50 of the door and is preferably located midway from the ends of the wire frame 58 which in the illustrated form is at the bottom of the frame. In more detail, the locking means provides a releasable friction connection to prevent movement of the frame in a direction to disconnect the hooks and a positive stop to prevent swing of the frame. Such a locking means is formed by an open notch 68 formed on the front edge of the support frame 58 and a headed screw fastener 69 attached to the rear wall of the door. To provide an open ended notch a center portion of the wire forming the frame is shaped into a U and bent at right angles to the frame such that the U-shaped portion 70 is parallel to the door Wall 50. As seen in the drawings, the notch 63 opens to the outside of the frame 58 and in the same direction as the projection of the hooks 64. The screw fastener 69 cooperating with the notch 68 extends forwardly through the rear wall 50 of the door and threadably engages a nut 71 held in position on the forward side of the door wall 50. A relatively large head '72 on the rear end of the fastener has a forwardly facing annular shoulder 73 which overlies the portions 70 of the Wire support frame forming the notch to preveht rearward movement of the support frame. A knurled part of the fastener head 72 permits the fastener 69 to be gripped by hand for threading it into the nut 71 and drawing the annular shoulder 73 forwardly for frictionally holding the notch portion of the support frame 58 between the shoulder and the door rear 'wall 50.

The foregoing construction allows the screen assembly to be removed easily and quickly each time the dryer is used to remove lint which has been trapped. The screen, being mounted on the door, is readily accessible immediately in front of an operator whenever the door is opened. In addition, periodic cleaning of the entire support structure may be accomplished by manually loosening the support fastener and lifting the shield panel of? the door. At the same time, the filter support and screen are easily replaced and are self-alining so that proper filtering is provided without adjustment.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a laundry dryer, the combination comprising a rotatable clothes drum having an axial loading opening, a cabinet surrounding said clothes drum having an access opening alined with said loading opening, means for exhausting drying air from said clothes drum including a perforated cylindrical flange between said drum and said cabinet around said openings, a door on said cabinet for closing said access opening, a perforate shield panel positioned in the path of exhaust air from said drum to said flange, means for removably supporting said panel on said door in rearwardly spaced relation thereto, said supporting means including a releasable connection engageable upon sliding movement transverse of said openings and manually operable means releasably holding said panel against transverse movement, and a slidably removable filter screen positioned intermediate said panel and said door for removing lint from exhaust air passing through said panel, said panel supporting means having an opening for removal of said screen.

2. In a laundry dryer, the combination comprising a rotatable clothes drum having an axial loading opening, a cabinet surrounding said clothes drum having an access opening alined with said loading opening, means for exhausting drying air from said clothes drum including a perforated cylindrical flange between said drum and said cabinet around said openings, a door on said cabinet for closing said access opening, a forwardly opening, dished shield panel having a perforate bottom portion, a wire framework interposed between forwardly facing edge portions of said shield panel and the rear face of said door for spacing said panel rearwardly from the latter, means engaging said framework upon edgewise sliding of said shield panel for removably mounting said panel on said door in the path of exhaust air from said drum when said door is closed, and a rearwardly opening, dished filter screen means interposed between said panel and said door, said door and screen means having coacting cam surfaces for resiliently holding the edges of said screen in sealing relation with said panel.

3. In a laundry dryer, the combination comprising a rotatable clothes drum having an axial loading opening, a cabinet surrounding said clothes drum having an access opening alined with said loading opening, means for exhausting drying air from said clothes drum including a perforated cylindrical flange between said drum and said cabinet around said openings, a door on said cabinet for closing said access opening, shield means including a perforate panel and releasable connections for mounting said panel on said door in the path of exhaust air when said door is closed, and filter screen means positioned between said door and said shield means, said shield means having an opening in the side thereof for removing said filter screen, and supporting means on said door "6 for engaging said releasable connections upon relative sidewise movement of said shield means, one of said supporting means and connections including a manually operable element for selectively holding said shield means against sidewise movement.

4. In a laundry dryer, the combination comprising a rotatable clothes drum having an axial loading opening, means for exhausting drying air from said drum through said loading opening, a cabinet surrounding said clothes drum and having an access opening in alinement with said loading opening in said drum, a door on said cabinet hinged for opening and closing said opening in said cabinet, a filter support having openings therein for passage of exhaust drying air from said drum, an open framework for mounting said support in spaced relation to said door having portions defining a notch and a pair of hooks, means on said door slidably engaging said hooks and notch including manually operable means for selectively holding said notch defining portion relative to said door, and a filter screen removably positioned between said support and door upon transverse sliding of said screen for collecting lint from exhaust air.

5. The combination of claim 4 in which the manually operable means on said door comprises a screw received in said notch and having a head portion defining an annular shoulder for selectively holding said notch defining portion of said framework in frictional engagement with said door.

6. In a clothes dryer having a rotatable clothes drum with an axial loading opening and means for exhausting drying air through said loading opening, the combination comprising, a cabinet surrounding said drum and exhaust means, said cabinet defining an access opening in alinement with said drum loading opening and having a movable door over said access opening, a filter shield panel closing the drum loading opening and having apertures therein for receiving air from said drum, means for removably mounting said panel on the rear of said door in rearwardly spaced relation thereto including slidably engageable means interconnecting said panel and said roor and manually operable locking means for selectively holding said slidable means in en gagement, a filter element slidably positioned between said panel and said door, and sealing means between said filter element and said panel to direct the passage of air through said element, said panel mounting means defining openings for the passage of air from said filter element to the air exhaust means and for edgewise sliding insertion and removal of said filter element.

7. In a laundry dryer, the combination comprising a rotatable clothes drum having an axial loading opening, means for exhausting drying air from said drum through said loading opening, a cabinet surrounding said clothes drum and having an access opening in alinement with said loading opening in said drum, a door on said cabinet hinged for opening and closing said access opening, a perforate shield removably mounted on said door in rearwardly spaced relation thereto in the path of exhaust air from said drum, a filter screen assembly positioned between said shield and said door, coacting cam surfaces on said filter screen assembly and said door for pressing said screen assembly into engagement with said shield and latching said filter assembly in the path of exhaust air passing through said shield, and resilient means for releasably holding said coacting surfaces in latching engagement.

8. In a laundry dryer, the combination comprising a rotatable clothes drum having an axial loading opening, means for exhausting drying air from said drum through said loading opening, a cabinet surrounding said clothes drum and having an access opening in alinement with said loading opening in said drum, a door on said cabinet hinged for opening and closing said access opening, a perforate shield panel mounted on said door in rearwardly spaced relation thereto in the path of exhaust air from said drum opening, a lint filter screen assembly positioned between said panel and said door and having a peripheral frame means abutting said panel, in-

tersecting'cross braces on said assembly having a forwardly extending projection centrally of saidfilter assembly, said door having a rearwardly projecting conical cam surface defining a'depression in the apex thereof for receiving said filter'assembly projection, and resilient means for releasably holding said filter assembly projection in said depression to position said filter assembly in the path of exhaust air.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS Geldhof et al. 34l33 Geldhof 34-133 X Geldhof et al. 3482 Shapter 34l33 X Cayot 34-82 

1. IN A LAUNDRY DRYER, THE COMBINATION COMPRISING A ROTATABLE CLOTHES DRUM HAVING AN AXIAL LOADING OPENING, A CABINET SURROUNDING SAID CLOTHES DRUM HAVING AN ACCESS OPENING ALINED WITH SAID LOADING OPENING, MEANS FOR EXHAUSTING DRYING AIR FROM SAID CLOTHES DRUM INCLUDING A PERFORATED CYLINDRICAL FLANGE BETWEEN SAID DRUM AND SAID CABINET AROUND SAID OPENINGS, A DOOR ON SAID CABINET FOR CLOSING SAID ACCESS OPENING, A PERFORATE SHIELD PANEL POSITIONED IN THE PATH OF EXHAUST AIR FROM SAID DRUM TO SAID FLANGE, MEANS FOR REMOVABLY SUPPORTING SAID PANEL ON SAID DOOR IN REARWARDLY SPACED RELATION THERETO, SAID SUPPORTING MEANS INCLUDING A RELEASABLE CONNECTION ENGAGEABLE UPON SLIDING MOVEMENT TRANSVERSE OF SAID OPENINGS AND MANUALLY OPERABLE MEANS RELEASABLY HOLDING SAID PANEL AGAINST TRANSVERSE MOVEMENT, AND A SLIDABLY REMOVABLE FILTER SCREEN POSITIONED INTERMEDIATE SAID PANEL AND SAID DOOR FOR REMOVING LINT FROM EXHAUST AIR PASSING THROUGH SAID PANEL, SAID PANEL SUPPORTING MEANS HAVING AN OPENING FOR REMOVAL OF SAID SCREEN. 